Functional Medicine
There are many cases in which an individual's health needs to be supported in multiple ways. While looking for answers for her patients, Dr. Ballard found Functional Medicine. The goal of Functional Medicine is to evaluate the health of an individual through specific testing to find the root cause of an illness or symptoms, and then support that individual with targeted nutritional/lifestyle changes and supplementation customized to that particular patient's history, symptoms, lab results, and lifestyle.
What is Functional Medicine?
Functional Medicine is a method we use at the office for looking deeper at the driving factors causing a person's physical symptoms and barriers to healing. Considering each individual as a whole and vital person, functional medicine asks not only the question "what" (as in what's going wrong) but also the questions "how" and "why" so that we may get to heart of the problem, correct it, and truly restore function and therefore, health!
We know that being symptom free does not equate to being healthy, in the same way that being debt free does not equate to being wealthy. We believe that each person deserves to be examined, tested, and cared for as the unique individual they are! Using Functional Medicine, Dr. Ballard dives into problems and diagnoses, lab tests and symptoms to come up with a customized plan for each patient.
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This way of looking at health resonates with Dr. Ballard at the deepest level. She is thrilled to offer this additional support to her patients and has helped dozens of adults and kids both locally and nationally through her nutrition consultations, specialized testing, and customized recommendations!
Functional Medicine Consultations...
What to expect.
We ask every new patient to first fill out our Nutrition Intake forms. These forms provide Dr. Ballard with extensive information regarding your past and current health, as well as any medications you have, or are taking, in addition to any medical procedures you have had. We will also request and review your medical records for a minimum of the last 2 years (sometimes longer depending on the duration of the particular complaint we are addressing).
Your first consultation will take approximately one hour during which time Dr. Ballard will talk to you privately to discuss the information on your intake forms in more detail.
To best evaluate your nutritional health, Dr. Ballard also relies on blood work, saliva testing (hormones), and hair analysis. Based on these test results and your discussion during the consultation, she will develop a protocol based on your individual needs and goals which consist of natural supplements and diet/lifestyle recommendations.
As with Chiropractic care, Dr. Ballard re-evaluates for improved function (typically on a monthly basis) to be sure function is being restored every step of the way!
For more information about Functional Medicine you can check out our Upcoming Events, Facebook page, and all sorts of articles on our blog that will help you become the best, healthiest version of you there is. Learn more about the products we use and how to order direct to your home by clicking here!